Category Archives: Trump Administration

Business immigration lawyers Houston

What does the future look like for the H-1B Visa Program?

What does the future look like for the H-1B Visa Program?

Recent reports from the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) show that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is denying H-1B visa petitions at higher rates than ever. NFAP reports show in 2015 H-1B visas were being denied at a rate of 6%. This year, the denial rate is averaging a whopping 24%. Houston immigration attorneys, William Fong and Gary Ilagan, break down why this is happening, what the increase of denials means for employers and international employees, and what’s ahead for the H-1B visa program.

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Business immigration lawyers Houston

World Day of Migrants and Refugees ends a busy Month for Immigration News

“World Day of Migrants and Refugees” ends a busy month of September for Immigration News

Sunday 29th of September marked the Vatican’s “World Day of Migrants and Refugees”. Over 100 years on from the first day it was instituted by Pope Pius X in 1914, it would appear to have been celebrated in years past in far less ambiguous times.

Three years on from the beginning of the current administration at the Whitehouse, many believe that immigrants have little to celebrate at this moment in time; with more than 50,000 immigrants being held in detention centers across the U.S. Add to this, the Government’s recent announcement to reduce the  cap on refugees to the unprecedented low of 18,000, there seems, on the face of it, little or nothing for Asylum seekers to look forward to.

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Texas Tent Courts take the strain of Immigration Case Backlog

Migrant Protection Protocol Program Cases heard in Texas Tent Courts

With president Trump’s latest victory in the Supreme court having delivered yet another blow to U.S. asylum seekers, there are even more concerns close to the border. Having this week won the Supreme Court Justice’s decision to allow the Trump administration rule that prevents migrants from applying for asylum in the U.S. if they have passed through but not sought asylum in another country other than their own before arriving in the US,  President Trump has effectively barred all but asylum seekers from Mexico from turning up at the southern border.
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Trump’s Immigration Reforms, Summer 2019

Reflections on Trump’s relentless pursuit for Immigration reform

President Trump’s recent “Safe third country asylum agreement” is clearly just one further bullet point on the Whitehouse’s growing bucket list for reducing immigration into the U.S.

With the latest changes to Public Charge rules and its definition, which will again tighten ‘eligibility’ for those potential immigrants who are in receipt of or need to rely on public assistance programs, is the Whitehouse slowly eroding the hope of and opportunity for poorer immigrants to the United States?
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Immigrants Credit Histories will now affect Immigration Status

Trump Administration Rule will now look at immigrant’s Credit Histories

Earlier this month the Trump administration implemented comprehensive changes to U.S. immigration policy including an initiative to allow the Government to consider the credit history of prospective immigrants

The rule change will effectively make it more difficult for prospective U.S. immigrants and legal immigrants to obtain permanent residency if they are reliant on social programs such as Food Stamps or Medicaid. The changes come as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s tightening of the definition of who is or is likely to become a ‘public charge’ which if ruled will give the DHS reason to turn down applications. Whilst the Government’s Final rule states that they will use a range of metrics to consider the suitability of a person’s application, it also indicates that negative or poor credit histories will indicate that “a person’s financial status is weak and that he or she may not be self-sufficient”.
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